William Parker (January 18, 1928 – August 19, 2019) was an American broadcaster for

WNBF WNBF (1290 AM) is a commercial radio station in Binghamton, New York. It airs a talk radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. The studios and offices are on Court Street in Binghamton. By day, WNBF is powered at 9,300 watts using a ...

, and a member of the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. Shows hosted by Parker include the TV Ranch Club, Captain Galaxy and the Officer Bill Show. Parker started working at WNBF in 1948, and retired in 1999. In 2015, Parker was added to the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Parker was born in Canastota, New York in 1928, which is in the town of Lenox, New York. After graduating from

Canastota High School Canastota Junior-Senior High School is a secondary school located on Roberts Street in Canastota Canastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,804 at the 2010 census. T ...

in 1945, Parker joined the United States Army. Between 1947 and 1948, Parker attended

Columbia College Columbia College may refer to one of several institutions of higher education in North America: Canada * Columbia College (Alberta), in Calgary * Columbia College (British Columbia), a two-year liberal arts institution in Vancouver * Columbia In ...

in Chicago.

Career

In 1948, Parker started to work for

. In 1949, Parker helped create WNBF-TV, where he hosted a show on its first day. On television, Parker hosted children's shows such as the Officer Bill Show, TV Ranch Club, and Captain Galaxy.

Later life and death

In 1999, Parker retired from WNBF after working there for 51 years. In 2015, Parker was added to the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Parker died on August 19, 2019, and was buried with military honors.

References

1928 births 2019 deaths {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Bill Columbia College Chicago alumni People from Canastota, New York